Iowa band calls Bullis School home during inauguration

Bullis School student Kadeem Chung (left), 15, greets members of the Isiserettes Drill and Drum Corps during a school assembly on Jan. 21. The school hosted the group for four days during the presidential inauguration festivities and the band performed during President Barack Obama's inaugural parade.

Potomac's Bullis School doesn't offer dormitories for its students. But after seeing a group in need, it changed its housing policy for a week.

Last week, the school welcomed Des Moines, Iowa's Isiserettes Drill and Drum Corps to campus, after reading a November Washington Post article about groups selected for the inaugural parade having a hard time finding housing.

The 50 group members, plus chaperones and band leaders, called Bullis's Athletic Center home from Jan. 18-21, noshing on meals provided by families, Potomac Pizza, Five Guys and California Tortilla.

"Bullis has a reputation of extending its hand to people in need," said school spokeswoman Laura Blades. "…It was exciting for all the students to see because it was a drum corps and it's just not something you see in the high schools around here."

The Isiserettes were one of the 100 groups chosen to march in President Barack Obama's inaugural parade Jan 20. By the time they were selected to march, however, most hotels in the area were booked, Blades said.

As a thank you to Bullis for their hospitality, the corps performed for students on Jan. 21 before they left to return to Iowa.

Buy a brick to support WJ

Tired of walking over plain bricks when you walk into Walter Johnson High School? To spice up a new walkway at the school, WJ's education foundation is now selling engraved bricks, ready to be adorned with your favorite phrase or quote.

Each brick costs $100, and can be filled with either 60 characters or a combination of words and pictures.

The money raised will support the education foundation.

For more information, e-mail wj.bricks@gmail.com, or visit www.walterjohnson.com.

Host families needed for international high schoolers

AFS International Student Exchange is looking for 15 Montgomery County families to host international students for the 2009-2010 school year.

Students come from more than 40 countries worldwide and are carefully screened.

Each host family is responsible for providing the students with a place to sleep and meals; students bring their own spending money and have their own health insurance.

To learn more, contact Bob Rushing at 301-236-6809.

For more information on AFS, call 1-800-AFS-INFO, or visit www.usa.afs.org.

Math reform meeting comes

to Somerset

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, a parents group dedicated to improving the performance of Montgomery County Public Schools, will host a math reform meeting at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 17, at Somerset Town Hall.

The meeting will address the current math curriculum in the county schools, and how it can be bettered in the future. Mathematics experts Jerry Dancis, Julie Greenberg and John Hoven will be on hand to lead the discussion; all parents are welcome.

Somerset Town Hall is located at 4510 Cumberland Ave., Chevy Chase.

For more information, contact the coalition at

contact@parentscoalitionmc.com.

Montessori learning hits home

Parents interested in making their home a Montessori learning environment are invited to join Montessori experts at 9:30 a.m., Friday, at the Crossway-Community Montessori School in Kensington.

Crossway-Community Head of School Ann Byrne will be on hand for a tour of the school, as well as a chat time to speak about instilling Montessori ideals in the home.

For more information, contact Salle Chatfield at 301-929-2505 or schatfield@crossway-community.org.

The school is located at 3015 Upton Drive, Kensington.

Three county schools named gold medal schools

Three Montgomery County high schools have been awarded gold medal status—placing them among the top 100 high schools in the nation—in a new U.S. News & World Report ranking.

Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda was ranked 44th in the nation, Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville was ranked 54th, and Winston Churchill High School in Potomac was ranked 57th.

They were the only three schools in Maryland to receive gold medal rankings.

The magazine analyzed academic and enrollment data from 21,069 public high schools, and then ranked the top 100 schools.

Mulch sales sweep the county

As amateur gardeners begin to make springtime plans for their lawns across the county, high school groups are there to fill the mulch void:

-Albert Einstein High School's Booster Club is now accepting orders for its mulch sale. Orders must be placed by March 14 and each bag costs $3.75. There is a 50 cent additional charge per bag if you would like curbside delivery and live within five miles of the school.

The mulch will be available for pick-up starting at 8 a.m. on March 21.

For more information or to place an order, contact Thomas Giblin at 301-946-2270 or ktplus4@verizon.net.

-Mulch sales at Thomas S. Wootton HS support the school's senior class and athletic department. Each three-cubic-foot bag costs $5 and orders are due March 25. The bags will be ready for pick-up April 17, 18, and 19; free delivery is available for orders of 12 bags or more, provided you live in the 20850, 20854 or 20878 zip codes.

For more information or to place an order e-mail woottonmulch@gmail.com

-Walter Johnson's third-annual mulch sale will support the school's booster club and orders must be placed by March 11. The large bags cost $5.50 each, with a five bag minimum. Curbside delivery is included in the price, provided you live in the 20814, 20817, 20852, 20895 or 20896 zip codes.

Orders will be delivered on March 28; you do not need to be home to accept your order.

Student service learning hours are also available to students who help with the deliveries.

For more information or an order form, e-mail mulchsale@walterjohnson.com.